Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has advocated for a reform of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) that would build Nigerians’ trust in the force.
This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday that quoted the governor to have said this during a stakeholders’ forum on community policing.
Kayode in the statement titled, ‘Community Policing: Fayemi makes case for police reform, need to address trust issue’, expressed reserve that many several Nigerians no longer trust the police, noting that citizens do not see officers of the police as their friends.
The governor bemoaned the non-implementation of a wide range of recommendations made at different conferences on how the Nigeria Police can be repositioned in the last 20 years.
The Governor, who spoke through the State Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Wale Fapohunda; urged the Federal Government not to ignore recommendations made by the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up during the ENDSARS protests with special attention on getting justice and compensations for victims of police abuse.
He said, “A large number of our people still don’t see police as their friends. So, it seems to me that an important way we can get that trust is through police reform. We cannot simply hope to achieve the intent of community policing without police reforms.
“The Federal Government should take seriously the reports of the judicial panel of inquiry that has been set up in the aftermath of the ENDSARS protests. If we are going to move forward we have to look backward and ensure that our people that have serious issues with police are properly compensated and their pains recognised.”